This garlic herb maple roast turkey is packed full of flavor with just a touch of maple syrup sweetness. It’s the perfect addition to any holiday table!
Who doesn’t love autumn?
With brilliant leaves, crisp air, juicy apples, and arguably the best holiday ever: Thanksgiving.
What if I told you there was a way to add more delicious autumnal flavors to your turkey on Thanksgiving?
This garlic herb maple roast turkey takes the traditional turkey seasonings of butter and herbs that we all love and combines them with sweet, ripe, fall apples, and dark, delicious maple syrup.
With the perfect balance of savory and sweet, this turkey comes out juicy every single time.
Trust me, this will become your new fall favorite!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for garlic herb maple roast turkey
- Turkey – The star of the show! I’ve used a 14-lb bird here, so you may need to adjust your cooking time depending on your size.
- Onion and garlic – Classic additions that will add earthiness to the turkey.
- Herbs – Fresh is best! Rosemary, thyme, and sage are the perfect combo of herbs that will fill the air with the familiar smells of Thanksgiving.
- Apples – The apples will add a fresh, juicy sweetness to the aromatics in the cavity of the bird.
- Dark maple syrup – Slightly smoky with a deep sweetness, maple syrup will give the turkey a savory sweetness without being cloying.
- Unsalted butter – We use unsalted butter here to help crisp up the skin and help the meat stay juicy.
What kind of maple syrup is best?
I think it’s important to first establish that “pancake syrup,” is not the same as maple syrup, and is not interchangeable here.
Pancake syrup is essentially corn syrup with coloring and artificial maple flavorings.
Real maple syrup is slightly smoky, and (when compared to pancake syrups) isn’t cloyingly sweet.
There are four grades of maple syrup: golden, amber, dark, and very dark.
The darker the maple syrup, the more complex and rich the flavors will be.
I’ve chosen dark maple syrup here because I’m looking for an intense maple flavor.
What kind of apples?
There are so many varieties of apples out there, that it’s hard to know which ones will work with which recipes.
For this garlic herb maple roast turkey, I would stick with an apple that is firm, but juicy and sweet, like a Fuji, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Jazz variety.
Granny Smith apples would be too tart here, and Red Delicious are too mealy in texture.
Storage and leftovers
Any leftover turkey meat can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Don’t throw away those bones!
You can save the bones and the turkey carcass to make a delicious bone broth for soup.
More turkey recipes
- Want something herbaceous? Try my Herbed Mayonnaise Roast Turkey
- Craving something spicy? Try my Adobo Butter Turkey
- Need something fast and easy? Try my Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Dinner
- Love using your
air fryer ? Try my Air Fryer Turkey Breast
Garlic Herb Maple Roast Turkey
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 pound whole turkey thawed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
- 2 cloves garlic cut in half
- 2 apples quartered
- 1 yellow onion quartered
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Remove your turkey from its packaging, rinse and remove the giblets. Add turkey to your roasting pan and using your hands cover the whole outside of the turkey with melted butter.
- Sprinkle the outside of the turkey with kosher salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, and sage.
- Fill the cavity of the turkey with the heads of garlic, apples, and onion. If you have any leftover fresh herbs feel free to also add them to the cavity of the turkey.
- Place your turkey into the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes turn down the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for about 2 hours.
- Remove from the oven, drizzle the outside of the turkey with maple syrup and add back to the oven and continue cooking until the bird reaches an internal temperature (when checked near the thigh) of 160 degrees F. Then let the bird rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.
- If the bird starts to brown too quickly simply tent it lightly with foil so it does not burn.